Resolutions
by pocketcucco
Summary: To his surprise, Flynn smiled. “Have confidence in me, Yuri. I have confidence in you, after all.”


**Author's Note:** I'm not totally sure if there's such thing as new years celebrations in Terca Lumireis, but a friend of mine gave me a writing prompt about "resolutions" and I had an idea for Flynn and Yuri, so...this is it. I actually haven't finished the game yet -- although I am at the very end -- so if I somehow managed to screw something up in this oneshot, I apologize. (Even though this piece is, technically, pregame.) I also wrote this for an art trade on LJ, so...I hope it turned out okay. I was originally aiming for a romantic Flynn/Yuri thing but it came out as platonic.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Tales of Vesperia._

_Resolutions_

Yuri could see the blastia-powered fireworks exploding over the sky in the capital, heralding in another new year for Terca Lumireis. Many of the people he lived with in the lower quarter—including the bleary-eyed, sleepy looking children—joined him by the fountain, watching the festivities with silent awe.

"We made it another year, Yuri," Hanks said, his arms folded over his chest. "Got any big plans?"

Yuri had to smile. "Have I ever had any big plans, Hanks? I don't plan on going anywhere."

"Hmm." The older man sighed thoughtfully. "You're still young. Take chances while you've got time."

"You can't get rid of me that easy," Yuri replied, brushing a strand of dark hair from his eyes. He glanced back up at the lively night sky, wistfully closing his eyes.

_Flynn. _He remembered the new years evenings he had spent with his childhood friend when they were only kids. They held contests to see who could stay awake until the castle set off the celebratory fireworks—it was, of course, another competition Flynn usually won.

Yuri had to wonder what his old friend did now, while he was working in the castle. Was he watching the fireworks and reminiscing like this? Yuri shook his head and laughed to himself—Flynn wasn't the type to stop working for something like that. He had no doubt in his mind that Flynn was probably issuing commands or patrolling some part of the capital, just like he always. Nothing got in the way of his job as an imperial knight.

"Going to start the year with a little trouble?" Hanks asked as Yuri wandered absently toward the middle quarter steps.

"Maybe. If I'm not back in the morning, I was probably arrested," the younger man said jokingly.

Hanks smiled. "Don't get into too much trouble."

The middle quarter was even livelier than the lower quarter had been—most of the citizens were gathered in the plaza where vendors sold souvenirs and small blastia fireworks children could play with. A pair of young boys lighting blastia-sparklers reminded Yuri again of his time spent with Flynn.

"Well, I think this is the first time in a while I've seen you out of the lower quarter without getting into some kind of trouble," an all-too-familiar voice said from nearby.

_Speak of the devil_, Yuri thought, smirking when he spun around and saw Flynn standing only a few feet away from him.

"On patrol, or is this just one of those weird coincidences?" Yuri asked.

"Not exactly," Flynn replied, forcing a rueful grin. "I don't have anything to attend to right now, so…I thought it might be nice to come out and see the displays."

"In the middle quarter? Don't they have nicer views from where all those nobles live?"

Flynn sighed. "I felt like coming here. Just like you, as it would seem."

"As it would seem," Yuri agreed, glancing again at the boys with a set of sparklers. Flynn followed his gaze and smiled faintly.

"Remember that time you lit one of those and burned your finger?" the knight asked, a devious note lingering in his otherwise friendly tone.

"Don't remind me," Yuri said, holding out his hand. The image of a pink and raw finger was still vivid in his mind's eye. "Man, I never thought that would stop hurting."

"I brought you ice."

"Yeah, you did. It got better pretty quick, but before that…" Yuri shook his head.

"You were reckless even when we were children."

"I wouldn't say 'reckless'…just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Flynn said, raising an eyebrow, "or so they say."

Yuri made a sweeping motion with his arm. "I'm still in one piece, aren't I? I guess I proved that saying wrong."

"You've proved it wrong time and time again," Flynn said, chuckling quietly.

The two men fell silent, staring back up at the fading fireworks. It was well past midnight and the festivities were drawing to a close—a majority of the children had gone to bed and only a few of the adults were left talking in the streets.

"Do you have any resolutions for this new year?" Flynn suddenly asked.

"You're the second person to ask me that tonight," Yuri said. "This year will probably be the same as the last, so I honestly haven't put any thought into new plans."

"I see," Flynn said, lowering his gaze. "I'm going to keep working toward my goal this year. The one we shared when you first joined the knights."

"Changing the government from the inside," Yuri said, rolling his eyes. "And how's that working out for you?"

"I'm doing my best. I'm going to keep working hard every day so the people living in the empire can lead lives of peace."

"High hopes for a knight."

To his surprise, Flynn smiled. "Have confidence in me, Yuri. I have confidence in you, after all."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Confidence in me? For what?"

"That you'll make the right choices. Eventually," his friend added.

"Yeah, keep dreaming," Yuri said teasingly. He shrugged and turned to the lower quarter staircase. "I should get back. It's getting late."

"Yes, indeed," Flynn said, glancing back over his shoulder at the nobles' quarter before he faced Yuri again. "I'll be trying my best this year. I know you will, too."

Yuri smirked, giving Flynn a halfhearted wave as he left the plaza to return to the castle where his duties as a knight waited for him.

"Make the right decisions, huh?" Yuri muttered, putting a finger to his chin as he stared back up at the sky. The fireworks had stopped, but traces of white smoke outlined the pale stars. "I hope you make the right decisions too while you climb that political ladder, Flynn."


End file.
